


The Night is Yours Alone

by c00kie



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe, Bad Weather, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-14 20:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3423713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/c00kie/pseuds/c00kie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Ben Wyatt met his soul mate at an airport.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night is Yours Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Back when I made that list of fics I needed to finish and asked which ones I should work on, this was at the top of the request list. It surprised me, but hey, I give the people what they want. Thank you to ashisfriendly, for friendship.

 

"Attention all passengers,"  the tinny voice came  over the speakers, making everyone sit up and take notice. "We regret to inform you that all flights have been delayed until further notice due to inclement weather. " As if on cue, everyone, including Ben, turned to look out the window seeing nothing but white.  All at once people stormed the gate agent, demanding answers and or refunds. Ben pulled out his phone and checked his weather app.

A blizzard.

Of course.

He waited, watching as people called their loved ones to let them know they're stuck in, as one guy put it, "stupid Kansas," which was amusing because they were in  Missouri, but he supposed anyone could make that mistake. The moment the agent was free, Ben went up to the counter. The woman was obviously tired, but her smile never wavered as she asked what she can do for him.  He looked at her nametag and thought what would Chris do, and gave her what he hoped is his most charming smile.

"Hi, Karen. I just need to know what I need to do about my flight."

"All flights have been grounded until further notice."

Sensing Karen wasn't going to be able to help him, Ben smacked the counter and said, "Thank you." Then he walked  back to his chair where he  pulled out his phone again, ready to call Chris before he remembered  he was in London visiting his step brother.  With a heavy sigh,  Ben gathered  his belongings, glad he didn't check any baggage,  and pushed the glass doors open, exiting the waiting area.

He opened the doors leading outside, the snow and wind instantly hitting his face, stinging his skin. He pulled his coat tighter, reaching  into his pocket to  pull out a pack of cigarettes, taking one out and lighting it.  He stood  as far back as he could so the snow wouldn't  hit his face, but it made no difference, the wind blew it right in.

He threw the cigarette out and went back inside, going straight to the monitors to check on his flight, only to see the word cancelled next to it.

"Fuck." It came from the woman standing next to him, but he agreed with the sentiment.

The line to the ticket counter was still long, but he knew it was now or never.  It moved slow making Ben feel as if he aged five years by the time he reached the counter where the ticket agent greeted him with a tense, "How may I help you?"

Ben liked him instantly.

It took several minutes and his name was only put on a list for the next available flight to Indianapolis, but there was no telling when that was. "The guess is Tuesday morning."

"It's Sunday."

"Yeah."

"I don't suppose there's anything to Chicago?"

"Nope. Holidays, weather, etcetera."

"Right. Thanks, Liam."

"You're welcome. Next!"

Ben walked away, intent to just get a room at the Marriot down the street for the night, but there were no busses or taxis.  Just snow.

"Santa wouldn't drive in this shit," someone said, walking past him.

Ben let out a breath of air. If he couldn't get to a hotel, he could at least get a cup of coffee from Starbucks.

  
After buying a venti americano, Ben found  an empty seat, taking out his phone to check his inbox and play Tetris until his coffee was gone and he had to use the restroom.  As he washed his hands, he tried  not to eavesdrop on the man next to him as he talked on his bluetooth headset about mergers and assets. He wiped his hands on a paper towel, throwing it into the wastebin before going  in search of something to do.

Outside, the world was grey. Inside it was bright and loud and full of people who were as miserable as him.

He should be home, working on his next novel, but no, he was there, two days before Christmas because his agent made him go to a stupid book conference in Austin.

He missed Austin. At least Austin was warm.

He meandered into a gift shop, wondering  if his editor would like a Dorothy Gale figurine, before looking at the price tag  and promptly putting it back down and buying the newest issue of Rolling Stone.

He walked out of the store, bumping into a woman in a purple beanie.  "Sorry."

"Me too," she said, and he moved to the side, allowing her to go past before he continued his aimless wandering.

Ben ended up back at the sitting area.  There was only one chair left, next to a woman trying to comfort her distressed infant.  "We don't have enough diapers," she told the man sitting next to her.

Ben walked away. There had to be somewhere else he could wait.

He smoked another cigarette. When he went back inside, the woman in the purple beanie was there, talking on her cellphone. She smiled at him as if they were good friends.  He nodded at her and she turned away, still talking to whoever was on the other end.

He found a small waiting area near the baggage claim with three chairs on each side where the only other person was a sleeping teenager with spiked hair and a skateboard leaning against the wall next to them.  Ben sat in the chair across from the kid and took his laptop out, looking around for an outlet. He saw one, but it was underneath the chair next to the skater.  The battery was at eighty percent, but hopefully he could get another chapter out before it died.

He plugged in his headphones, turned on his writing playlist on itunes and started where he left off.

He was five hundred words in and at sixty two percent when she came in, sitting down on his side.  He watched from the corner of his eye as she took off her beanie, placing it on the chair separating them. He kept writing though, even as she started digging through her belongings, pulling various items out.

"Brownie?"

He stopped writing and looked at her, pulling out one earphone. She was holding out brownie, that smile still on her face.

"Um, thanks," he said, taking it because seeing food reminded him that he was starving.

"You're welcome."

Ben looked at her stuff.  There was a cup from Starbucks, a binder, an ipod and a book. His book.

"You're reading that?"

"Um  yeah."

"Can I ask you what you thought of it?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

"It's a little contrived."

Ben laughed. "Yeah, I think so too."

"It's just sci fi isn't really my thing but I was told it was really a political thriller but the robots are throwing me off."

"Hey, robots are cool."

She just laughed, shaking her head, her blonde curls bouncing against her shoulders. He wondered if they were as soft as they look.  "It's beautiful out there," she said, looking out the window.

He had the brief thought that she was the one who's beautiful. "It'd be a lot more beautiful if I could leave."

"Well, sure," she shrugged. "Where are you going?"

"Indiana."

"Me too!" She beamed and his heart swells. "Where do you live?"

"Indianapolis. You?"

"Pawnee. What flight are you on?"

"453, united."

"Oh, I'm on American. I'm on standby."

"Me too. So uh, why are you in Kansas City?"

"Cousin's wedding. You?"

"Book conference in Austin. This was supposed to be a thirty minute layover."

She scrunched up her nose. It was quite possibly the cutest thing he'd seen in a long time. "I'm sorry."

Ben sighed. "Yeah. It was my fault for traveling in December. So your cousin really got married in December?"

"Yup."

"So was it themed? Like some sort of winter wonderland or twelve days of Christmas?"

"Actually no! It was just an ordinary wedding. They didn't even play holiday music at the reception."

"Huh.  Are you two close?"

"Not at all. I only really came because my mom told me too. I think she was hoping I would hit off with one of the groomsmen."

"Did you?"

She gave him a pointed look that says  what do you think? and he laughed. "Sorry."

She laughed and stuck out her hand. "I'm Leslie, by the way. Leslie Knope."

He clasped his hand over hers. "Ben Wyatt."

"Not the Ben Wyatt who wrote this."

He just smiled and she pulled her hand away. "Oh no. I just insulted your book in front of you."

"You were no worse than the New York Times."

"Yeah, that was pretty vicious."

Ben laughed. "Yeah so, Leslie, I think I need another coffee. Can I get you anything?"

"A hot chocolate with extra whip."

"You got it," he said, standing up. "I don't suppose-"

"Your luggage is safe with me." He had no doubt that was true.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

  
The line was long and they were clearly starting to close up, but he managed to get his coffee and her hot chocolate. When he went back to her, the kid was gone, but Ben still sat down next to her.

"Thanks," she said , taking a sip.

"You're very welcome."

She leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes as she hummed in pleasure. He had to think of his grandmother to keep from reacting.

He checked his lap top. His battery was at twenty percent.

"Is that your new novel?"

"Yeah."

"What's it about? Robots right?"

"Actually it's a fantasy."

Leslie perked up. "Like Harry Potter?"

"Uh, not exactly. Less quidditch, more murder and nudity.  It's pretty much a Song of Ice and Fire rip off."

"I don't know what that is."

"Really? Oh they're great. You should totally read them. But to tell you the truth I'm kind of stuck right now."

"Oh. Well I can help you brainstorm. I have a binder."

It was her enthusiasm that made Ben shrug and say, "Okay."

Two hours later,  Ben's battery was completely dead, but Leslie was frantically writing in her binder as he paced around, both of them spring boarding ideas off each other.

"And then Kolapi says, "You can take our land but you can never take our dragons!"

"Yes!" Ben  did a double fist pump. "And then one of the dragons breaks free from it's chains and flies up in the air and starts breathing fire on the King and his men."

"Meanwhile, Kolapi and her side are freeing the other dragons."

"But she feels a sword poking her in her back and she slowly turns around and it's Miko and he throws a sword to her and they start fighting."

"Wow. She kills him right?"

"Of course."

"Good."

"You never told me what you do."

She looked up from her needlepoint. He'd plugged his laptop into the outlet and with the help of Leslie's paper, managed to get both an outline for the rest of his novel and ten pages written while they sat  in comfortable silence, the occasional drifter coming by to sit with them for a time. At one point Leslie had gotten into a rather animated discussion with  a man carrying a set of golf clubs about the sport, and while Ben really thought golf was boring, there was something about the way she spoke that had him completely enthralled, making it impossible for him to concentrate. But that man had left, as had all the others, leaving Ben and Leslie alone again and he found he didn't feel like writing anymore.

"I'm the deputy director for the Parks department."

"That's awesome."

"Really?"  She gave him a smile like she wasn't quite used to men saying her job sounded cool but then her eyes lit up and she started talking, her needlepoint falling to the floor but she didn't seem to notice or care and truthfully Ben didn't either.

He wondered if this was what they meant by being bewitched and if it was, he totally understood how Darrin felt.

Time was meaningless.  He didn't know what time it was or what day. He just knew that with every minute that passed, he was falling in love.

"Truth or dare."

"What?"

"You heard me. Truth or dare," Leslie said, poking Ben on his knee.

"Dare?"

"I dare you...to throw those cigarettes away."

"Okay."

"Really?"

Ben shrugged and took the pack out of of his pocket. There were only four left in it anyway and he had half a carton left in the bottom of his suitcase. "Sure." He walked over to the garbage can and dropped them inside.

"Your turn."

"Truth."

"Do you think Snape's evil?"

"What? That's not a truth or dare question."

"I know," Ben said, sitting next to her, "I just really want to talk about it."

  
Sometimes they leave each other.  To walk around, to make phone calls, to use the facilities. He misses her every time she's gone.

"Okay, worst break up."

"Eighteen. Cindy Eckert. We'd fooled around a few times and I thought that meant we were together so I asked her to prom. She laughed at me and said not even in my dreams. I guess technically that wasn't a break up since we weren't really dating. You?"

"Oh, well they've all been pretty bad. My last one though was a real doozy. He got down on one knee and begged me to never call him again."

The word why circled around in Ben's head. Why would anyone not want to ever talk to Leslie again? He had only known her for eight hours and already she was his favorite person.

"I'm too much for people."

"I don't think that's true," Ben said, shaking his head. "If anything they're not enough for  you."

"Any fives?"

"Go fish."

"You can sleep you know.  I'll watch your things."

"I was about to tell you the same thing," Ben said, seeing the light fade in Leslie's eyes.

"It's okay. I'm not much of a sleeper anyway. Besides, the sun is about to come up."

Ben looked out the window. The sky was definitely getting lighter. But more importantly, it had stopped snowing and the plows were starting to show up.  Ben glanced at Leslie and knew she was thinking the same thing. He could sleep on the plane.

"We should go check on our flights."

"Yeah."

"And then I'll buy you breakfast."

Her smile could light up cities. "It's a deal."

"Here's your ticket, please enjoy your flight and have a good day!"

"Thanks," Ben said, taking his new ticket from Cheryl the ticket agent. He moved out of the way and slipped it into his carry on bag before going to the restaurant to meet Leslie. He found her there, leaning against the wall while she talked on the phone. She grinned at him and waved.

"I'll see you when I get home. Bye, mom." She hung up, putting her phone back into her purse. "So, did you get a flight?"

"I did." Ben pat his bag. "Flight 206 to Indianapolis."

"Flight 118." Leslie replied, grinning. "When do you leave?"

Ben groaned. "Tomorrow at eight thirty am. You?"

"Six am."

"Oh. That's not so bad."

"Yeah, I was kind of hoping to sleep in my own bed tonight though."

Ben laughed and glanced out the window. "Wait, the roads are clear. I know it's not your bed but I could use a shower and well there is a perfectly good hotel, what do you say we split a room?"

"Ben Wyatt, are you propositioning me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go."

They took turns using the shower. He let her go first, turning on an old rerun of Fraiser while he waited. She had instructed him to order them room service, her treat, so he called down and ordered them two burgers and two pieces of chocolate cake.  When she came out she was dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a t shirt. "Your turn, there should be enough hot water."

There was. The shower felt good on his aching muscles, the soap cleansing his skin of airport grime.

The food was there when he came out. They ate at the table,  and even though the conversation was light, there was an undercurrent to it, as if they both knew the moment they were done, it was going to be on.

And it was. the moment she finished her chocolate cake and declared herself finished, Ben stood up and walked to her, pulling her up. Their mouths met and that was it.

He spent the night exploring her, tasting her. Sometimes they would fall asleep, only to wake up shortly thereafter, needing each other again.

It was the best night of his life.

"We have to go soon," she said, looking at the clock.

Disappointment filled Ben's stomach. "Oh. You have time for breakfast?"

"I always have time for breakfast."

Before Ben knew it, they were back at their terminal. "Come on, I'll walk you to your gate."

"I wish you could come in with me."

"Me too," Ben said. "I'm going to be so bored without you."

"You'll be great. Go find a quiet place and write."

Ben wondered if that was possible. It felt as if the airport was  
even busier now that the roads were starting to clear and planes were beginning to take off again. "Okay."

When they reached her destination, there was a small line to go inside, but it seemed to be moving fast. Leslie though, stopped in the middle of the hallway, forcing people to go around them.

"The line is there-" he said, pointing.

"You're in a hurry to get rid of me."

"I'm not, I just don't want you to miss your flight."

"I've got fifteen minutes before they start boarding."

"Yeah, but what about-"

"Ben?"

"Yeah."

"Shut up." And it was the last thing she said before leaning up and pressing her lips to his. It was a slow, careful kiss that made Ben feel like he'd destroyed a million Death Stars.  It was over way too soon, and as her hand fell from his face, he saw her nervous smile and the slight fear in her eye and he knew he had to make it go away. So he crashed his lips to hers, threaded his fingers into her hair and kissed her the way he felt a woman like Leslie Knope should be kissed.

"Wow."

"Yeah." He kissed her again, softer this time. "Okay you better go," he said, seeing the line was empty now.

She smiled, said, "Okay," so soft he barely heard it. He watched as she gave her ticket and ID to the security guard. Before she went inside though, she turned around. "Ben!"

"Yeah?"

"I put my card in the front pocket of your suitcase. I don't know what your situation is but if you're ever near Pawnee and want to get some waffles, I know just the place."

"Okay." He smiled and waved and then she was gone.

When Ben finally got home he dropped his things on the kitchen counter and fell down on the couch, instantly falling asleep. When he woke,  it was to Chris' voice on the answering machine, telling him how great London was and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Still feeling groggy, Ben ignored it and went to the bathroom to shower. He thought about Leslie and all the things he did to her and wanted to. And when he felt his release he knew he was absolutely screwed. But the shower and jerk off session helped, as did the two cigarettes he smoked while he waited for his Kung Pao chicken to arrive.

He called his parents, and his two siblings, apologizing for not being able to make it that year. Then he went and took his laptop out, put on some music and checked his various message boards before opening his novel back up.

By the time it was eight, he couldn't take it anymore. He marched to his suitcase and opened the front pocket, pulling out her card. On it was her work phone and email, and he doubted she would be there this late. Although, given how passionately she talked about her job, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

But then he turned the card over and saw another number,  handwritten.  Without letting himself think about it too much, Ben dialed the number and willed his heart to stop pounding in his ear before she answered.

"This is Leslie Knope."

"Hey, Leslie. It's Ben Wyatt."


End file.
